A mesoscale convective system raced out of Indiana and across Ohio during the late night and predawn hours. Cloud top temperatures on satellite imagery were warming as the complex finally reached western West Virginia.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS RLX wrote it up.
A mesoscale convective system raced out of Indiana and across Ohio during the late night and predawn hours. Cloud top temperatures on satellite imagery were warming as the complex finally reached western West Virginia. Yet, wind damage still occurred.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Charleston, WV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 22, 4:09 AM EST, 1 minute earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 509 AM EDT TUE JUL 22 2008 .SYNOPSIS... UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES WILL CAUSE A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TODAY. A COLD FRONT APPROACHES TONIGHT...EXITS WEDNESDAY. HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN THURSDAY. ANOTHER COLD FRONT SATURDAY. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... REGION CURRENTLY BEING AFFECT BY A STRONG MCS WHICH SHOULD MOVE THROUGH THE REGION BY AROUND 12Z TO 13Z. THE 00Z NAM HAD A GOOD HANDLE ON THE SHORTWAVE FOR THIS COMPLEX AND HAVE UPDATED THE SPEED ON THE POP TO SHOW THE CAT POP EXITING THE NORTHEASTERN PART OF THE REGION BETWEEN 12Z AND 14Z. BUT WITH THE FRONT STILL NORTH OF THE AREA...THE ATMOSPHERE SHOULD BE ABLE TO RECOVER WITH THE DAY TIME HEATING. THIS SHOULD ALLOW TEMPERATURES TO CLIMB INTO THE MID 80S TO LOWER 90S. GENERALLY FOLLOWED CLOSE TO THE FWC HIGHS...WHICH SEEMED TO BE A NICE BLEND OF THE WARM MAV AND COOL MET. WITH THE ATMOSPHERE RECOVERING...ARE NOW WATCHING THE NEXT SHORTWAVE THAT IS BACK OVER NRN MISSOURI. THE NAM SHOWS THIS WAVE ARRIVING THIS AFTERNOON BETWEEN 18Z AND 21Z. SHOULD THE ATMOSPHERE RECOVER...THE SCENE SHOULD BE SET FOR MORE STRONG CONVECTION WITH STRONG WINDS AGAIN THE MAIN FACTOR. THE UPPER TROUGH SHARPENS TONIGHT WITH THE JET ROTATING AROUND UNDERNEATH IT. THAT SHOULD FINALLY GIVE THE COLD FRONT THE SHOVE IT NEEDS TO BEGIN TO MOVE INTO THE AREA AND EVENTUALLY ACROSS IT. BUT IN THAT PROCESS MORE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED. HAVE RAISED POPS TO LIKELY. FOR LOWS OVERNIGHT RAISED VALUES UP INTO THE MID TO UPPER 60S AS THE COMBINATION OF THE FRONT NOT CLEAR AND LOTS OF CLOUDS SHOULD HOLD VALUES UP...AND IT MAY BE WARMER FOR AREAS EAST OF THE OHIO RIVER. && .SHORT TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... A WAVE MOVING ALONG A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE OVER THE REGION ON WEDNESDAY...PUSHING THE FRONT SOUTH OF THE AREA BY WEDNESDAY NIGHT. MODELS HAVE SOME TIMING DIFFERENCES WITH THE WAVE AND FRONT. WILL GO WITH A BLEND FOR NOW. HIGH PRESSURE THEN BUILDS IN FOR THURSDAY WITH DRIER AND COOLER WEATHER. MODELS HAVE SOME FAIRLY MAJOR DIFFERENCES FOR FRIDAY...SO FOR NOW WILL GO WITH THE CURRENT FORECAST WHICH SUPPORTS THE GFS. && .LONG TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY/... MODELS AGREE THE MEAN UPPER TROUGH OVER THE NORTHEASTERN U.S. WILL L AGREEMENT ON A REINFORCING SHOT OF COOLER AIR ARRIVING IN THE FORM OF ANOTHER COOL FRONT SATURDAY INTO SATURDAY NIGHT. SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE THURSDAY INTO MUCH OF FRIDAY WILL KEEP THINGS ON THE DRY AND LESS HUMID SIDE...WITH NEAR NORMAL MAX TEMPS IN THE 80S. BY FRIDAY NIGHT...RETURN SOUTHERLY FLOW AHEAD OF THE APPROACHING FRONT WILL BRING MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY NORTHWARD AGAIN...LEADING TO SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FRIDAY NIGHT. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED SATURDAY ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE COOL FRONT...DIMINISHING SATURDAY NIGHT AS THE FRONT EXITS. HOWEVER...BEHIND THIS SYSTEM MUCH COOL AIR ALOFT WILL MOVE IN...AND ENOUGH LINGERING MOISTURE WILL ALLOW FOR ISOLATED TO SCATTERED MAINLY DIURNAL CONVECTION SUNDAY AREAWIDE...CONTINUING IN THE MOUNTAINS MONDAY. && .AVIATION /08Z TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... INITIALLY...WITH THE SKY CLEARING FOLLOWING THE EVENING CONVECTION ACROSS THE NORTH...SEEING FOG DEVELOPMENT IN THE MVFR TO IFR RANGE. HOWEVER THAT LOOKS TO ONLY LAST A FEW HOURS BEFORE PROBLEMS CHANGE TO CONVECTION ARRIVING FROM THE WEST. TIMING THE SHORTWAVE OFF THE NAM MODELS BRINGS INITIAL CONVECTION...MAINLY FOR THE NORTHERN SITES AT AROUND 11Z AT PKB AND THEN TOWARD 13Z AND 14Z AT CKB AND EKN. FURTHER SOUTH THE QUESTION WILL BE HOW FAR SOUTH THE CONVECTION WILL GET WITH THE DYNAMIC SUPPORT FURTHER NORTH. FOR NOW HAVE NOT PLAYED MUCH FOR THE SOUTHERN SITES...BUT HTS WOULD BE THE MOST VULNERABLE BETWEEN 10Z AND 12Z SHOULD CONVECTION NOW OVER CVG HOLD TOGETHER. AS THE CLOUDS ARRIVE FROM THE WEST EXPECT THAT THE FOG SHOULD BEGIN TO LIFR WITH VSBY GETTING BACK TOWARD MVFR TO VFR. BEHIND THIS SHORTWAVE THIS MORNING...SHOULD SEE A BREAK IN THE ACTION AS THE FRONT CONTINUES TO MAKE VERY SLOW PROGRESS SOUTH...AS IT IS STRONG IN NRN OHIO AND INDIANA THIS MORNING. SHOULD SEE VFR CONDITIONS RETURN AS THE CLOUDS SCATTERED INTO A CU FIELD. AROUND 18Z TO 20Z...THE NEXT SHORTWAVE WILL MOVE EAST. IT IS CURRENTLY OVER NRN MISSOURI AND KANSAS. THE MODELS SHOW THAT THIS WAVE WILL TRACK EAST AND SHOULD GENERATE MORE CONVECTION AGAIN FOCUSING ITS ENERGY ON THE NORTHERN PART OF THE AREA...BUT IT COULD GENERATE MORE ACTIVITY FURTHER SOUTH. SO HAVE ADDED MORE RESTRICTIONS FOR THE AFTERNOON HOURS. THIS WAVE WILL CLEAR BY 00Z...BUT THEN OVERNIGHT...THE FRONT WILL FINALLY GET THE PUSH IT NEEDS TO MOVE THROUGH WITH THE SHARPENING OF THE UPPER TROUGH TAKING PLACE AND THE TROUGH AXIS SLIDING INTO THE AREA. SHOULD SEE MORE PRECIPITATION AND VSBY RESTRICTIONS AS CONVECTION SHOULD AGAIN DEVELOP. AVIATION OUTLOOK /AFTER 06Z WEDNESDAY/... BRIEF IFR POSSIBLE IN THUNDERSTORMS TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. && .RLX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WV...NONE. OH...NONE. KY...NONE. VA...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...ESS/RPY NEAR TERM...ESS SHORT TERM...RPY LONG TERM...JMV AVIATION...ESS
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
1123 PM EDT MON JUL 21 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1054 PM TSTM WND DMG GRAFTON 39.34N 80.02W
07/21/2008 TAYLOR WV EMERGENCY MNGR
NUMEROUS TREES DOWN AT GRAFTON AND OTHER PLACES.
&&
AROCHEPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
458 AM EDT TUE JUL 22 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0358 AM TSTM WND DMG JUNCTION CITY 39.72N 82.30W
07/22/2008 PERRY OH LAW ENFORCEMENT
NUMEROUS TREE AND POWER LINES DOWN. HOUSES DAMAGED.
&&
RYOUNGPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
500 AM EDT TUE JUL 22 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0450 AM TSTM WND DMG POMEROY 39.03N 82.03W
07/22/2008 MEIGS OH LAW ENFORCEMENT
NUMEROUS TREES DOWN
&&
RYOUNGThe Charleston,WV radar (KRLX), 73 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 09:11 UTC.
5 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Numerous trees were blown down. Power outages occurred.
Trees were uprooted. Some roads were blocked by fallen trees.
Several trees and large branches fell across roads.
Trees fell across Route 2.
Trees fell across Route 74.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in West Virginia in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in West Virginia, July 2008
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 115738, 115745, 115743, 115750, 115747.